Leg construction for case goods and the like



Oct. 9, 1956 sMn- 2,766,090

v LEG CONSTRUCTION FOR CASE GOODS AND THE LIKE.

Filed Dec. 18, 1953 mmvrozc if FIG. 7. LEE SMITH Iii WW United States Patent 6 LEG CONSTRUCTION FOR CASE GOODS AND THE LIKE Lee Smith, Ludington, Mich., assignor to Carrom Industries, Inc., Ludington, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application December 18, 1958, Serial No. 398,964

2 Claims. (Cl. 311-113) This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in furniture and more particularly to an improved type of leg construction for case goods and the like.

In the manufacture and construction of wooden furniture such as desks, bookcases, tables, and the like, the main portion of the furniture such as the case or frame is usually made up of a plurality of pieces of wood joined together in the formation of top, bottom, front, back, and side walls. The corners at the bottom of the structure are usually fitted with some type of legs by which the entire assembly is supported upon the floor. In the case of desks, bookcases, chests, and the like, the legs are usually relatively short; and in the case of tables and other similar articles of furniture the legs are relatively long. In either case, however, the joinery by which the legs and corner-forming elements are brought together and fastened usually involves gluing and clamping with the result that a reasonably secure initial juncture is achieved. As the furniture is used, however, various stresses are applied to the legs which rather quickly loosen the joint between the legs and the upper portions of the furniture necessitating repair, and in some cases rendering the furniture entirely useless. Various conventional methods are in current use in the dustry to provide leg and corner joints which are as strong as possible, but in many instances the type of construction employed is not only expensive, but unsatisfactory in terms of longwearing durability.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a type of leg and corner construction for furniture of the type stated, which construction is simple and economical, and at the same time provides an unusually strong, durable, joint whereby the leg is securely attached to the furniture and at the same time the corner to which the leg is attached is braced and rendered unusually strong.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a corner and leg construction for furniture of the type stated which can be fabricated with a minimum of labor and materials and will produce a joint which is strong and yet attractive in appearance.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing Figure l is a perspective view of a table constructed accordance with and embodying the present invention; Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a bookcase constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the bookcase showing in more detail a modified form of leg and corner construction embodying the present invention;

taken along furniture in- Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the modified form of leg and corner brace construction; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Figure 6.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings which illustrate practical embodiments of the present invention, A designates a table comprising a rectangular top 1 preferably including four peripheral framing members 2 mitered together at their corners and glued, doweled, or otherwise conventionally joined and marginally bonded along their inner edges in any conventional manner to a central core 3 which may be made of a single piece of plywood or a plurality of strips of solid wood as desired. Glued and screwed to the under side of each table corner as shown in Figure 2 is a leg-supporting block 4 which is preferably square in horizontal shape and is provided along its three outwardly presented edges with beveled faces 5, 6, 7, and along its inwardly presented edge with a vertical face 8. Along its beveled face 6 the block 4 is provided an inwardly extending central slot 9 which opens into a substantially circular vertical bore-hole 10 which is in co-axial alignment with a bore-hole 10' of the same diametral size formed in the table top 1 and is, in effect, a continuation of the bore-hole, and having a flat bottom face 11.

Provided for assembly with the top 1 are four tubular legs 12 the upper ends of which are sized for snugfitting tightly pressed disposition within the aligned boreholes 10, 10'. Each leg 12 is further cut-off across its upper end for flatwise seated abutment against the end face 11 of the bore-holes 10' within which it is socketed. The upper portion of each leg 12 is diametrally drilled in alignment with the slot 9, and the block 4 is also drilled in similar alignment to accommodate a long bolt 13 which is inserted therethrough with its head 14 in the slot 9. At its other end the bolt 13 projects outwardly from the block-face 8 and is provided with a lock-washer 15 and nut 16 by which the bolt 13 is drawn down tightly.

It will be evident that the block 4 serves the dual purpose of securing or re-enforcing the mitered joint at the corners between the framing members 2, and at the same time alfording a strong joint or supporting structure for the leg 12. Furthermore, the leg 12 may be readily removed for compact packaging and shipping and can be very simply and conveniently remounted on the table A for ultimate display in the retail furniture store and use by the purchaser.

A modified form of leg structure of the present invention shown in Figures 4 to 7, inclusive, illustrating a bookcase B having side walls 17, 13, a bottom wall 19 preferably provided on its under side with frame pieces 19', 19", a top wall 20, and a plurality of shelves 21, although not essential, bookcases of this type are usually provided with four mitered framing strips 22, 23, 24, 25, disposed edgewise around the forwardly presented edges of the walls 17, 18, 19, 24 respectively.

At each of the bottom corners the side walls 17, 18, are respectively butt-joined and on their under faces provided with a leg-supporting block 26 which is both screwed and glued thereto and extends diagonally across the corner substantially as shown in Figure 6. The leg block 26 is provided with two vertical edge faces 27, 28, and two transverse beveled faces 29, 30, which are angularly disposed to the longitudinal axis of the leg block 26 and are respectively parallel to the outwardly presented faces of the trim-strip 24 and side wall 17, for example, as shown in Figure 6. Along its forwardly presented face 27, the leg block 26 is provided with a bore-hole 31 which is circular in cross-sectional contour and conforms to an are which is substantially less than 360 but substantially more than 180 so that it will open upon the face 27 in a vertical slot 32, This is, of course, accomplished by u locating the center of the bore-hole 31 closer to the face 27 than its radius. The under face of the frame piece 19' is provided with a bore-hole 31 having a flat bottom-face and being of the diametral same size as, and axially aligned with, the bore-hole 31. The diametral size of the bore-hole 31, 31 is such as to snugly and tightly accommodate the upper end of a tubular leg member 34 the upper end of which is in endwise abutment against the bottom-face 33 and is diametrally drilled in alignment with the center of the slot 32, the block 25 also being bored in alignment therewith for accommodating an elongated bolt 35 having an externally presented head 35' and projecting at its rearward end beyond the block-face 28. On its inner end the bolt 35 is ti htly secured by a lockwasher 36 and nut 37, as best seen in Figures 6 and 7.

It will, of course, be evident that this modified form of construction also provides a re-enforcement for the corner joint of the furniture and at the same time afford a strong, vertical socket into which the leg may be inserted. As previously pointed out, the leg may be removed or replaced at will for convenience in shipping and transportation.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the leg construction for case goods and the like, may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An article of furniture comprising a generally horizontal member having a downwardly presented leg-engaging under face and generally vertical edges, side members joined to said edges in the formation of a corner, a plate-like member rigidly secured to said under face and extending flatwise diagonally across the corner, said platelike member and said generally horizontal member being provided with vertically aligned registering apertures of substantially circular cross-sectional shape, the aperture of the plate-like member being cut away along one side to provide a slot-like opening having a transverse width shorter than the diameter of said aperture, a vertical leg I claim and provided at its upper end with a rod-like portion tightly fitted into and embraced by said apertures, a bolt extending diametrally through the rod-like portion of the leg and into the plate-like member, said bolt having a head which is accessible from the forward side of said slot-like opening for drawing the leg, the plate-like member and the horizontal member tightly into mutually braced relation.

2. An article of furniture comprising a generally horizontal member having a downwardly presented leg-engaging under face and generally vertical edges, side members joined to said edges in the formation of a corner, a plate-like member rigidly secured to said under face and extending flatwise diagonally across the corner, said platelike member being provided with an aperture having a circularly shaped peripheral contour greater than 180 degrees but less than 360 degrees to thereby form a longitudinal slot-like opening on said plate-like member, said generally horizontal member having an aperture of generally circular cross-sectional shape and formed with a leg-engaging bottom surface, said apertures being vertically aligned, a substantially vertical leg provided at its upper end with a substantially cylindrical rod-like portion shaped to tightly fit within said apertures and against said leg-engaging bottom surface, a bolt extending diametrally through the rod-like portion of the leg and into the platelike member, said bolt having a head which is accessible from the forward side of said slot-like opening for drawing the leg, the plate-like member and the horizontal member tightly into mutually braced relation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 437,539 Warner Sept. 30, 1890 696,519 Tyden Apr. 1, 1902 753,034 Behn Feb. 23, 1904 2,148,353 Hofiman Feb. 21, 1939 2,580,707 Underhill Jan. I, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 94,270 Germany Oct. 20, 1897 

